Superlative adjectives – the oldest, the most important, etc.

Grammar

Use of superlative adjectives

We use superlative adjectives to compare one thing in a group with all of the other things in the group.

We use “the” before the superlative adjective because we are referring to one specific person or thing.

Example:

family

Mark is the tallest person in the family.

How to modify a superlative

Method 1

“one of the” + superlative + plural noun

Example:
Great Britain is one of the richest countries in the world.

Meaning:
There are several very rich countries in the world. Great Britain is an example of those very rich countries.

Method 2

“some of the” + superlative + plural noun

Example:
New York, London and Tokyo are some of the most expensive cities in the world.

Meaning:
There are several very expensive cities in the world. New York, London and Tokyo are examples of those cities.

Method 3

We can also modify a superlative with an ordinal number. An ordinal number tells us the order of a group of things. We call the “normal” numbers cardinal numbers.

NUMBERCARDINAL NUMBERORDINAL NUMBER
1onefirst
2twosecond
3threethird
4fourfourth
5fivefifth

Look at the picture below. You can see that the members of the family are all of different heights.

family

Mark is the tallest person in the family.

After Mark, there is an order from the tallest to the shortest.

We use the following structure:

the” + ordinal number + superlative

Examples:
David is the second tallest person in the family.
Jane is the third tallest person in the family.

Method 4

We can also replace “the” with a possessive.

Form:
possessive + superlative

Examples:
Physics is her hardest exam.
Jane is my best friend.
Maths is Mark’s hardest exam.

Form of superlative adjectives

The form of a superlative depends on the number of syllables in the original adjective. See below for the grammar rules.

One-syllable adjectives

For most one-syllable adjectives:

We add -est

ADJECTIVESUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE
hardhardest
talltallest
shortshortest
smallsmallest

Example:

solar system

Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system.

For one-syllable adjectives ending in “e”:

We add -st

ADJECTIVESUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE
finefinest
nicenicest
rarerarest

Example:
Jane is the nicest person in the office.

For one-syllable adjectives ending in a consonant, vowel and consonant:

We double the last consonant and add -est

ADJECTIVESUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE
bigbigger
fatfatter
hothotter
thinthinner

Example:
Spain is the hottest country in Europe.

Two-syllable adjectives

For most two-syllable adjectives:

We use “most” + adjective

ADJECTIVESUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE
carefulmost careful
famousmost famous
peacefulmost peaceful
pleasantmost pleasant
usefulmost useful

Example:
This is the most peaceful view that I have ever seen.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in “y”:

We change the “y” to “i” and add -est

ADJECTIVESUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE
busybusiest
easyeasiest
funnyfunniest
happyhappiest

Example:
Saturday is the busiest day of the week for shopping.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in “er”, “le” or “ow”:

We usually add -est

ADJECTIVESUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE
clevercleverest
gentlegentlest
narrownarrowest

Example:
David is the cleverest boy in the class.

Longer adjectives

Adjectives with three or more syllables:

We always use “most” + adjective

ADJECTIVESUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE
complicatedmost complicated
enjoyablemost enjoyable
interestingmost interesting
Reading book
by “Cjcj-40067” | FreeImages.com

Example:
This is the most interesting book that I have ever read.

Irregular superlative adjectives

Some superlative adjectives are irregular:

ADJECTIVESUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE
badworst
goodbest

Examples:
He wants to be the best football player in the world.
In my opinion, she is the worst actress in Hollywood.

Exercises on the theme:

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